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Joanne Wanjala

About Me

The number three has turned out to be my lucky number in almost all aspects of my life. Little wonder that I am the third born in a family of six. I was born in a remote village in the Western part of Kenya. Those were the days when a woman was supposed to behave "womanly." She could be rated highly if she could dare not cross wrong paths (of men). Submission, naivety and obedience were the key virtues that could earn her great respect in the society. I remember when at one point I challenged my mom to run off and leave my father, who occasionally beat her up. But owing to the number of slaps that I received right across my face from my mom for saying such "stupid things", I decided to keep my peace, at least at that moment.
Those were also the days when fathers looked at daughters in terms of the number of 'cows' they were bound to bring! (In our village, dowry is transacted in the form of cattle. The number is high when the girl observes the highest level of submission and obedience). I must admit that we were never the best of friends with my dad because to him, I lacked 'manners' and I was too 'big-headed.'

Despite all that, I have fought battles and have broken more taboos by pursuing higher education to Masters level at the University of Nairobi. I am no longer a minor as far as my gender is concerned. I have a strong will to liberate my sisters who suffer silently in the brutal hands of men through my voice.
Hey, women, we can do it!
Travelling, making friends, writing, swimming Lack of well designed infrastructure to reach out to many readers. Financial constrains. Research, Communication, Public Relations, Writing, non-profit management.

My Vision for the Future

Becoming an independent, dynamic, empowered, open-minded and strong-willed person. Living in an empowered community full of knowledge on their rights. Having a world shrunk in to a global village with every living member having full access to information